Coming off a tough loss last week, the Allentown Charge U12 girls soccer team traveled to Brick to take on the Cougars. Sporting their red jerseys and a new formation on the field, the Charge was set to take control of the midfield, and hence the game. With their four midfielders, Allentown created opportunities from the outset of the game. Lexie was first to tally for the Charge with a low driving shot from the left corner that evaded the Cougar goalie. Brick didn't fold. They came back with pressure on the Charge defense that was ultimately thwarted by a magnificent save by keeper Donna Cashin. Taylor Bachik, Stephanie Falsetti, Biance Covitz and Kelly Tohill remained solid on defense. The midfielders kept a stranglehold on possession of the ball in the center of the field and continued to feed the offense and create opportunities. Sarah Mottram took a pass by the midfield and broke through the Cougar defense and calmly placed the ball past the goalie for a 2-0 lead that the Charge took to halftime. The second half continued to show strength by the Charge and resilience by the Brick squad. Opportunities were plentiful and eventually the pressure was too much for Brick when they took down Allentown's Shannon Abbott inside the penalty area. Erin Primich confidently took the penalty kick, which was saved by the Cougar goalie, but was deflected back to Primich and eventually placed the ball in the back of the net for a 3-0 Charge win. Strong play by the entire team contributed to this win, including Carly DuBrosky, Kimberly Wilson, Jamie Perritt, Krysta Plummer and Lena Campbell. Next week the Charge is home to take on Monmouth Coast.

It was a great birthday present for team captain Melanie Samules, as the UFA women's team improved to 3-0 with a convincing win over Mercer, 7-0. Melanie Astore had two goals to complement a hat trick last week. Nicole Weinberger netted her first of the season. Elysa Nelly had one goal, and a newcomer to the team, Veronica, recorded a hat trick of her own. Second-half goalkeeper Jody Scarano recorded the shutout. The women have outscored their opponents 17-1 so far this season.

UFA 40 played at home this weekend for the first time this season, against a team from Holmdel. The weather was unseasonably warm at kick-off, not the fall weather everyone was hoping for. As the game progressed, it would become evident that the hot conditions combined with a shortage of players would prove to be UFA's undoing. With only nine men available at kick-off time, the injured Amaro Pereira was forced into service to help out in midfield. The first half was fairly evenly played, Holmdel was the first to strike, attacking down the righthand side, and they beat keeper Martin Scarano with a well-struck shot that left him little chance. Just before the break, a nice combination of passes between Dan Caruso and Scott Perritt culminated in a nice cross from the left wing by Perritt. Leading goal scorer Danny Tiexiera was there to meet it, driving the ball into the back of the net for the equalizer.

The second half resumed and as temperatures rose, the energy level of the game fell. Despite some searching runs into their opponent's box by Pereira, Caruso and Perritt, UFA was unable to break through. Meanwhile, at the other end, sweeper Alan Nicholls, supported gamely by Chuck Darrell and Didier Mory, were constantly being stretched to the limit trying to keep the Holmdel attackers from scoring. Eventually, the dam was breached. Holmdel got the goal that would prove to be the winner. Again, keeper Scarano was left unprotected on his left side, and the Holmdel forwards capitalized on the open space to race down the wing and into the box before slamming the ball past the defenseless goalie. From there on in it was really a case of going through the motions and waiting for the final whistle to sound.

Next week, UFA 40 are away at Brick, and hope to bring their losing streak to en end.

The Allentown Mighty Mites proved to be the bright spot against a tough Edison Jets program. The MM Redbirds moved to 4-1 with a convincing victory over the Jets at home. The hard-hitting Allentown defense was first on the field and delivered the message that any yardage gained was going to be earned. This week's defensive captains and defensive ends Freddy Bush and Joey Marsala-Williams continued to play tough, containing the outside game and pushing runners deep in the backfield. Once deep, the aggressive outside linebackers Jake Alessi and Dakota Wojcik combined with cornerbacks Shane Ryder, Steven Alpaugh and Willy Fiordland, played flawlessly and shut down any chance of getting outside. The Redbird defense pushed the Jets offense back 20 yards to set up the already potent Allentown offense on the Jets' 45.

The offense decided to "power up" and run behind its strong offensive linemen and the day's offensive captains, Matthew Hahn and Sean Bennett. On the first play, RB Dakota Wojcik followed left for 25 yards and a first down. On the ensuing play, RB Jake Alessi took the handoff outside to the right but then cut back and darted to the endzone for the first TD of the game.

The Jets offense then decided to try inside, where it was met by the nasty interior line of Willy Fiordland, Ryan Hultberg, Max Rosenfeld and Jake Morse. Together, along with middle linebackers Brad Ryder, who patrols the inside like a warden, and Conner Marks at strong safety, who is always looking to come up and make a big hit, the Jets found out the inside was also not a place for positive yardage, losing 10 yards in the series.

The Redbird offense then went to the air and ground to get them inside the 10 before RB Wojcik took the handoff and sprinted to the flag for the second rushing TD. Chris Azzarello then powered the first extra point conversion of the season through the uprights for a 14-0 lead. After another four plays and out, the offense went directly to the air behind its brick-wall protection of Joey Pritchard, Chris Massarini, Joey Colletti, Matthew Schreck and Garrick Ross. QB Chris Azzarello connected to a wide open Kyle Lysy for a 35-yard perfect pass, catch and score for the final TD of the game. Jake Alessi then converted another extra point to bring the score to 22-0.

Two plays later, the defense made another big play behind nose guard Jake Morse, who stripped the ball loose for Chris Azzarello to recover for the first and only turnover of the game. The remainder of the game was controlled on the ground with hard-nosed running by Troy Witholt and Steven Alpaugh, QB Kyle Lysy and a truly stellar performance by the entire offensive line. The defense completed its third shutout and the score ended Redbirds 22-0.

Next week the Redbirds travel to Trenton for what is sure to be a hard-fought test.